Urban Planning
Streetsblog’s Brand-New Podcast: Episode 1
Behold, Streetsblog's brand-new podcast! In what we aim to turn into a recurring feature, Reconnecting America's Jeff Wood and I recently chatted about the week's news in livable streets, urbanism, and sustainable transportation. The topics are drawn from Jeff's excellent daily compendium of transportation and planning links, The Direct Transfer, and from stories we're tracking at Streetsblog Capitol Hill. It's a treat for me to get back to producing audio -- I was a radio reporter before joining Streetsblog.
November 4, 2013
Richard Florida: Seniors Want Vibrant, Livable Cities Too
When he settled on Miami as his designated spot to escape Toronto winters, urbanist Richard Florida said he expected “all young people with a lot of gel in their hair.” What surprised him was finding a pocket of baby boomer urbanites from cities like Washington, DC, who came to Miami for its arts, diversity and walkability.
June 7, 2013
Bill Peduto, Rising Urbanist Star, Wins Pittsburgh Mayoral Primary
He's a "top urban influencer." He promoted parking reform in his campaign to become Pittsburgh's next mayor. And on Tuesday, City Councilman Bill Peduto won the Democratic mayoral primary, making him something of a shoo-in for the city's highest office. (Pittsburgh hasn't elected a Republican mayor since the 1930s.)
May 24, 2013
A “Movement For Movement” Puts Walking Front and Center
Six weeks after my daughter was born, my midwife asked me if I was getting any exercise. I confessed I wasn’t. I hadn’t figured out a new routine that included exercise, my old activities weren’t baby-friendly, I just didn’t have the time, and I wasn’t up for anything high-impact.
December 6, 2012
Why It Can Be More Affordable to Live in an “Expensive” City
So, how did Washington, D.C. -- widely perceived as one of the most expensive cities in the country -- end up topping a “most affordable” housing list?
October 19, 2012
Leinberger: Walkable Urbanism Is the Future, and DC Is the Model
Chris Leinberger wears too many hats to count – real estate developer, George Washington University professor, Brookings fellow – but he has one message: “Walkable urbanism is the future.”
September 13, 2012
CNU Hones Its Transportation Agenda in Long Beach
Preceding the start of the Pro-Walk/Pro-Bike/Pro-Place conference this week, the Congress for the New Urbanism met at the Renaissance Hotel across from the Long Beach Convention Center to convene their annual CNU Transportation Summit. At the summit, CNU develops its transportation agenda, including new and existing projects. Having caught the new urbanist bug in Florida at CNU 20, I was eager to have another opportunity to both learn and contribute to their dialogue.
September 12, 2012
Arizona DOT Study: Compact, Mixed-Use Development Leads to Less Traffic
Does walkable development really lead to worse traffic congestion? Opponents of urbanism often say so, citing impending traffic disaster to rally people against, say, a new mixed-use project proposed in their backyards. But new research provides some excellent evidence to counter those claims.
May 18, 2012